AWS IoT Things Graph

AWS IoT Things Graph provides reusable models that represent devices and web services and bridge differences in low-level details such as communication protocols and proprietary interfaces. It’s easy to combine models together to create IoT applications using a visual interface. You can use a library of pre-built models for popular devices types such as cameras, motion sensors, and switches, as well as web services such as Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3), Amazon Rekognition, or AWS Lambda or create your own custom models.

AWS IoT Things Graph provides a visual way to represent complex processes, such as welding car frames on a manufacturing line, automating shutdowns of production lines when anomalies are detected, and implementing building lockdowns when suspicious behavior is identified, as a visual workflow. A workflow consists of a set of interactions in a specific order between devices and web services. You simply drag-and-drop devices and web services, and define the order of interactions between them to create a workflow. For example, you can create a workflow that is triggered by a motion sensor that will automatically take a picture and send a text message. IoT Things Graph coordinates the interaction between devices and services, including any necessary protocol translation or unit conversion.

With just a few clicks, AWS IoT Things Graph packages and deploys your IoT application to the AWS Cloud or AWS IoT Greengrass-enabled devices. AWS IoT Things Graph coordinates interactions between devices and web services and retries any failed steps to keep your workflow running smoothly. Once deployed, you can use AWS CloudWatch to monitor your flows by collecting and processing workflow data, as well as set alarms and actions around flow performance thresholds.

Smart home integrators want to connect everything, from refrigerators to light bulbs to TVs. However, they struggle to get devices working together because they come from different vendors. AWS IoT Things Graph eliminates the need to understand low-level device details so integrators can focus on building connected home applications. For example, AWS IoT Things Graph makes it easy to build a home security solution that integrates motion sensors, smoke detectors, and cameras with facial recognition services so you can spot an intruder and generate alerts. Then, you can deploy the solution across different home layouts with just a few clicks.

Industrial companies need to keep costs low and ensure the right inventory levels. They want to use connected devices to get new supply chain data, but it’s challenging to connect devices to the cloud and also to existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems because it requires writing low-level code. AWS IoT Things Graph lets you build a model for each connected device and reuse it across hundreds of different facilities without having to rewrite deployment-specific code. As a result, you can gather device data and connect it to ERP systems in order to gain deeper insight across the supply chain. Because applications can be deployed to your AWS IoT Greengrass-enabled devices, they can even run without internet connectivity.

Utility providers want to optimize energy consumption and provide better customer service, so they offer smart meters that control HVAC systems based on weather conditions. With AWS IoT Things Graph, you can add support for various HVAC systems, connect to weather data services, and deploy the application to smart meters enabled with AWS IoT Greengrass, without spending months writing new integration code.